Resiliently supportable, rigidly held terminal



RES-YILIENTLY SUPPORTABLE, 3mm: HELD TERMINAL med Sept. 12, 196:5

/N 145' N TOPS RM CARLSON RM ESTES 0.5 FEEMAN A TTO/PNEV R. CARLSON- ETAL 3,202,757-

quate rigidity in supporting the terminal. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a feed-through terminal resiliently supported for subse- I 12 having flat Pa'taslrala, Ohio, assignors to Western Electric: Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y. a I

corporation of New York I Filed Sept, 12, 1963, Ser. No. 308,507

2 Claims. (Cl. 174-153) This invention relates to aresilientiy supp ortab Estes and,

movement 3,202,757 Patented Ans-.2 196s of V the terminal element when subjected to outside forces. The outer'surface of. the terminal eleme.nt 12 is formed with anchoring projections 23 adjacent thersupport '14 to preclude sliding movement of the element within the support 14. An outer gripping cuplike shell 18 composed of a thermoplastic material, for

example an acetal copolymer, is formed about the main portionof the support 14 to provide a resilient covering idly heldfeeddhroughterminal; whichfsis marinaded panel for subsequent electrical connections.

In the manufacture of electronic apparatus; it is ire- 1 quently necessary to provide panel structure adjacentto ratus. However,

wherein a terminal is provided with a. resilient support for --mo'unting within the panel and such 'resilient support is not capable of sustaining heat uponthe terminal during subsequent soldering operations. Injadd on, when a highly resilient material is utilized to. support the terminal for subsequent insertion into an aperture of a panel, such resilient material does not provide adequent insertion into a panel wherein the supporting sinuoture is capable of sustaining heat subjected to the terminal during subsequent soldering operations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a feed-through terminal which is resilient for insertion into a panel and when mounted within the panel is rig: idly supported to preclude undesirable movement.

With these andother objects in view, the present invention contemplates a feed-through terminal having. a central conductive terminal rigid insulating material surrounding an intermediate portion of the terminal and a comparatively resilient in sulating material surrounding the rigid material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear'from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof when read inconjunction with .the

. appended drawings in which;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a feed-through terminal showing a terminal element extending through supporting structure, and i FIG. -2 is a sectional view taken along line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing the feed through terminal mounted within a panel. i

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a feed-through terminal 11 is provided with a' rodlike conductive terminal element portions 13 formed on opposite, ends thereof. A cylindrical inner support 14 is composed of a thcrmos'etting plastic material, for example a phenolic resin, and concentrically surrounds and supports an intermediate. portion of the terminal element .12. The support 14 is further formed with a circular flanged section 15 having a butter tapering outwardly at one end thereof, an annular anchoring rib '16 about an intermediate portion of the periphery thereof and a reduced neck 17 at the opposite e'nd thereof. It is noted that the thermosetting plastic material has heat resistance properties which are capable of sustaining'heat subjected to the terminal element 12 when thefiats 13 of the terminal are soldered .with other-elements to provide an electrical connection. In addition, the thermosetting plastic material utilized in the support 14 provides a strengthening property torigidly support the terminal element 12 in an aligned orientation againstundesipableelement with a relatively 15* the apparatus having terminals monntedthereinto f a'cilitate the connecting of such. apparatus with other appaa frequent problem is encountered.

for the support.

.Asshown in FIG. 2, the shell 18 is formed with an jaunt-liar groove 19' about an intermediate portion of the inner wall thereof wherein the groove cooperates with the annularib 16 of the support 14 to anchor the shell to the support. A panel. 21 having an aperture 22 is shown in FIG. 2 in sectional form to reveal the manner in which the feed-through terminal 11 is mounted to the panel.

The resilient, nature of, the shell 18 facilitates the manual insertion of the feed-through terminal 11 within the aperture '22of the panel 21. The flange 15 of the support 14 precludes movement of the feed-through terminal in one direction while the resilient frictional gripping of the outer shell 18 cooperates with the anchor rib 16 of the support to'preclude movement of the feed-through terminalin the opposite direction unless subjected to considerable outside force. It is noted that the buffer 20 also supportsthe flange 15 to prevent the flange from breaking under additional pressure.

Thus, it is seen that a feed-through terminal is provided wherein the terminal element is rigidly supported bya material which is capable of withstanding the heat transmitted through the terminal element during subsequent solderingoperations and further, the feed-through terminal is provided with a resilient outer shell to facilitate insertion of the feed-through terminal within a panel. v

It is to be understood that the materials utilized in the support 14 and the shell 18 are not limited to those disclosed herein but could be any type of material which would satisfy the heat resistance andstrengthening properties for the support and the resilient properties for the shell.

It is to befurther understood that the above-described terminal is simply illustrative of the principles of the invention, other embodiments may be devised by those skilled in the art and still fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A feed-through terminal insertable into and se1f-supportable in an aperture of a panel, which comprises:

a conductive element,

a rigid heat resistant thermosetting plastic support formed about an intermediate portion of the conductive element,

the support formed with a flange at one end thereof andv a rib protruding outwardly along an intermediate portion thereof spaced from the flanged end a distance greater than the thickness of the panel, and

a cuplike shell of thermoplastic material having a groove formed within an intermediate portion of the inner wall thereof formed about the portion of the support extending from the flange with the rib of the supportanchored within the groove of the shell so that the shell is precluded from moving in either 'direction relative to the support where, upon insertion of the feed-through terminal into the aperture of the panel, the flange of the support engages one surface of the panel to preclude continued movement of the terminal through the panel and the thermoplasticv shell is compressed within the aperture and expands in a plane common with the support rib and adjacent the opposite surface of the panel to lock th terminal within the panel.

A h e zhterminat in'sertable um; and self,

a conductive element,

a cylindrical support surrounding an intermediate por 1 I I ca-resilient cuplike-shell' about the portion of t I thickness 'of the shell, provides an outer diameter for the teed through terminal which is .gr'eater than the diameter of the panel aperture, the: shell formed with an annular groove which mates Withthe rib of the support to anchor the shell with the support where, upon insertion of the feed-through terminal into the -.supportable in ana'perture of 'apanel which comprises; f

the supportextending' rou1the flange wherein- I pub; Mar. 20, 19s1,1644 o .0. 9 14. t I panel aperture, the resilient shell is deformed to-fit 4 into the sin aller riiameter panel aperture until the} support flange engages one "thereby positioning the ribin a plane spaced from the opposite surfaceof-the panel so that the rib co- 5 I teed-through terminal within 'the anel. j "mmmscaeuby theExamlner" k UNITED STATES PATENTS 263,801 "9/ 2 ,Niehols 174'-so.s7 4 2,803,693 i 8/57, Kurland et at. 174-.-so.ss FOREIGN'YPATENTS tonnes-1 1153 France.

.3/. 45 Great Britain. 1 580 649 9/.46- Great Britain;

100,113 10/40 Sweden;

" OTHER REFERENCES Grant: Abstract of application Serial Number 53,494,

v LARAMIE E. ASKI N; Primary E xamin'ei';

surface; of the 'panel,

operates with'the' deformedresilient shell to lock the 

1. A FEED-THROUGH TERMINAL INSERTABLE INTO AND SELF-SUPPORTABLE IN AN APERTURE OF A PANEL, WHICH COMPRISES: A CONDUCTIVE ELEMENT, A RIGID HEAT RESISTANT THERMOSETTING PLASTIC SUPPORT FORMED ABOUT AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE CONDUCTIVE ELEMENT, THE SUPPORT FORMED WITH A FLANGE AT ONE END THEREOF AND A RIB PROTRUDING OUTWARDLY ALONG AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION THEREOF SPACED FROM THE FLANGED END A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE THICKNESS OF THE PANEL, AND A CUPLIKE SHELL OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A GROOVE FORMED WITHIN AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF THE INNER WALL THEREOF FORMED ABOUT THE PORTION OF THE SUPPORT EXTENDING FROM THE FLANGE WITH THE RIB OF THE SUPPORT ANCHORED WITHIN THE GROOVE OF THE SHELL SO THAT THE SHELL IS PRECLUDED FROM MOVING IN EITHER DIRECTION RELATIVE TO THE SUPPORT WHERE, UPON INSERTION OF THE FEED-THROUGH TERMINAL INTO THE APERTURE OF THE PANEL, THE FLANGE OF THE SUPPORT ENGAGES ONE SURFACE OF THE PANEL TO PRECLUDE CONTINUED MOVEMENT OF THE TERMINAL THROUGH THE PANEL AND THE THERMOPLASTIC SHELL IS COMPRESSED WITHIN THE APERTURE AND EXPANDS IN A PLANE COMMON WITH THE SUPPORT RIB AND ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE SURFACE OF THE PANEL TO LOCK THE TERMINAL WITHIN THE PANEL. 